Langkawi- Day 1

Hubby and I had the opportunity to head off to Langkawi for a short break early this month. We didn't bring the little one; my mum kindly agreed to babysit him overnight for a few days, so we could have a less stressful holiday.

I spent a lot of time planning the trip (it's an obsession of mine), to make the most of the time we had. We were there for 4 days and 3 nights- all in all, it was a rather nice break- except for the weather, which was waaaaay too hot!

The flight to Langkawi was a slightly delayed, but that was ok. I bumped into a colleague who was also going to Langkawi- with twin babies in tow! 3 adults with 2 babies- wow. For a moment there I really felt bad about leaving the baby at home. Yikes.

Anyway, we touched down and proceeded to rent a car to get around Langkawi. Driving around Langkawi is really easy actually, except that one needs to watch out for the animals that might be crossing the road, heh. We drove to Langkawi Fair Mall, which apparently is the biggest mall on the island.. which turned out to be really really small. Okay- guess we have to cut them some slack and not compare the malls there with the ones in KL.

We had lunch at a quaint little cafe filled with paintings, which were also for sale, incidentally.

Lunch at Arts Cafe

After lunch, we drove to Dataran Lang, which was on the way to our hotel- The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa. I rarely go outdoors, so this trip really reminded me of how hot and humid Malaysia is. Gosh. Walking around under the scorching sun is seriously uncomfortable. No wonder I tend to stick to cooler destinations for holidays!

Did you know? The name Langkawi is a combination of “Lang” and “Kawi”. “Lang” comes from the Malay word helang meaning eagle and Kawi means red or brown. Hence, the gigantic statue of a brown eagle at Dataran Lang.. =)

We headed for the hotel after taking a few photos at Dataran Lang; it was just too hot to hang around outdoors. We arrived early, but they managed to sort out our check-in so we could get some rest. Service was great- we were given cold face towels and refreshing drinks to cool off while we waited to be checked-in. Nice.

We were so warm and tired that we seriously considered staying in for the rest of the day- haha. Still, we managed to drag ourselves out of bed after a short nap, although it wasn't easy! We then drove all the way to the Oriental Village to take the cable car up Gunung Machincang. It was almost closing time so there wasn't a queue, which was nice. The ride up was s-c-a-r-y! The cable car swayed so much in the wind, and it was unnerving seeing the cables swing up and down with the attached cable cars bobbing along with them.

There is also a cool-looking suspension bridge that one can check out, but we decided it was too far a walk to get to, plus it was getting late and we had dinner reservations elsewhere.

We had dinner at La Sal, a restaurant at Casa Del Mar, a pretty little hotel situated on Pantai Cenang. Our table was on the beach, with a lovely view of the sunset. The ambience was really nice and romantic.. until the sun disappeared in the horizon.

After that, we were attacked by mosquitoes (although the restaurant did provide repellant) and the night turned warm and muggy. And there was no longer any breeze! Darn. Should have remembered my Geography lessons on 'bayu laut' and 'bayu darat' ... :p

Ah well. And how was the food?

The appetizer we ordered was really yummy- Deep Fried Kataifi Prawns on Avocado, Grapefruit, Mango Salsa with Curry Lime Mayo. Too bad there were only 2 prawns though- and this cost RM39!

Hubby's Australian Beef Fillet with Chive Mash, Beans, Watercress, Hollandaise & Shallot Jus was wonderful. The beef was tender and just right. An excellent choice indeed!

I ordered the Seared Sesame Tuna with Edamame Potato, Asparagus & Bean Salad & Wasabi Aioli. I made the mistake of ordering it 'well-done' (didn't want to risk eating anything raw-ish while on holiday, given my sensitive tummy), which meant it turned out like a thick slab of tuna instead- way too 'dense' for my liking. Sigh, what a waste. I can imagine how wonderful it would have tasted just seared. Arrrghh!

On the upside- the Edamame Potato was delicious...